A Best Practices Guide To Food Podcasting: How America’s Modern Culinary Community Is Teaching The Art Of Cooking And Food Appreciation

Food podcasting has become a thriving genre in the U.S. podcasting space; as of early 2024, there were more than 13,400 food podcasts listed in the Apple Podcasts database. However, only about 20 percent of new podcasts ultimately survive. This thesis conducted a three-part content analysis of six leading food podcasts, examining program metrics, website user experience (UX), and content strategy. Publicly available data was analyzed alongside insights from informal conversations with podcasters, producers, and podcasting professionals. Findings reveal that unique content, strategic audience targeting, consistent production, strong UX design, and thoughtful branding all contribute to success. This study also highlights challenges around monetization and the need for community building. Results were used to develop a best practices guide for aspiring “foodcasters.” The six sample podcasts included in this study are: Dinner SOS (Bon Appétit); Proof (America’s Test Kitchen); Radio Cherry Bombe (The Cherry Bombe Podcast Network); Recipe of the Day (Cook the Story); The Splendid Table (American Public Media); The Sporkful (Stitcher Studios and SiriusXM).